Nov
15
Little Falling Star
Filed Under Blog hops, Magazines, Prizes | 150 Comments
Welcome to All About Appliqué on this second day of the 100 Blocks Blog Tour!
I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog, I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about all kinds of appliqué here, so take your time clicking around the categories, and use the keyword search as well.
Here’s my block for Volume 14, “Little Falling Star.”
When I sent the block in, I called it “Shooting Star,” because it’s traveling upwards. You could make it more of a falling star just by rotating it a quarter turn.
And if you want to to travel the other way just reverse it from there.
I used some beautiful batiks to make this version. You could also make it look very playful by using colorful prints. Here’s another version.
You’ll notice that here I chose to leave out the inner trail and let the groovy flower print shine. :)
Of course, shooting or falling stars are really meteoroids, but it’s much more fun visually to render them as stars!
Hope you have fun with your star, and also enjoy the 99 other fantastic blocks in Volume 14. I already have my advance copy, and let me tell you, it is a feast for the eyes. If you’d like to win a copy, just leave a comment at the bottom of this post before noon California time on Friday, November 18.
(Remember that if you are subscribed by email, clicking “reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Click over to the blog itself on the internet to leave your comment at the bottom of the post. Thanks!!)
And don’t forget to start every day the rest of the week at Quilty Pleasures to take part in the blog hop.
Happy sitiching!
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop
May
8
My 10th block!
Filed Under Blog hops, Magazines | 163 Comments
Greetings gentle quilters!! It’s Wrap-up Day for the 100 Blocks Volume 11 blog tour! I hope you’ve been having a rollicking week visiting all of the designers. I’m so proud to have one of the 100 once again. This marks the 10th time for me, how very cool!!!
I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast.
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If this is your first time visiting my blog All About Appliqué, I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about all kinds of appliqué here on the blog, so take your time clicking around the categories, and use the keyword search as well.
Like many quilters, I love hearts, and hearts find their way into many of my designs. I also happen to love spirals, so for my latest block I combined the two.
Scroll Heart by Kay Mackenzie
The magazine gives instructions and templates for making the block using fusible appliqué. But I actually stitched this block by hand, using a combination of regular and reverse appliqué. It gives the scroll an inlaid look.
I used regular hand appliqué around the edge of the heart. For the scroll, I used reverse appliqué to open and stitch the red fabric, exposing an inserted piece of black underneath.
However which-a-way you like to appliqué, I hope you enjoy the block and all the other 99 fabulous and varied designs in Volume 11!
The editors of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks are sponsoring a giveaway of a copy of the magazine! If you’d like to enter to win, please leave a comment here on this post before 12:00 noon California time on Wednesday, May 13.
Good luck in the drawing, and remember that if you are subscribed to the blog by email, clicking “Reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Come to the blog on the internet and leave your comment at the bottom of the post. :)
Many thanks for your visit!
Cheerio,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop
Apr
13
Angel in the centerfold!
Filed Under Magazines | 2 Comments
Now before you start singing a J. Geils Band song, it’s not that kind of centerfold, and seriously, I’m no angel :).
But, my project Spice Pinks does appear right smack dab in the center of the current issue of Quiltmaker, bookending the pullout section!
May/June 2015!
Spice Pinks is an old block that was traditionally accomplished using curved piecing. I applied a little appliqué reimagining, and curved piecing no more!
And here I am, the closest I’ll ever get to being a centerfold angel.
Thank you Quiltmaker!!
Until next time,
Kay
Nov
17
Nine-Patch Posies!
Filed Under Blog hops, Magazines, Patched appliqué, Prizes | 223 Comments
Greetings gentle quilters!! It’s Kickoff Day of the 100 Blocks Volume 10 blog tour! I’m so happy to have a block in this landmark issue.
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I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog All About Appliqué, I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about all kinds of appliqué here on the blog, so take your time clicking around the categories, and use the keyword search as well.
I’m delighted and proud to say that this is my ninth time having one of the 100 Blocks. (I must have been asleep at the switch for Volume 2.) I just love participating in these special issues, and golly! Ten times ten, that’s 100 different original blocks that have been published since the whole thing started. Quite an accomplishment… comgratulations to the Quiltmaker staff!
My latest title from Martingale, Scrap-Appliqué Playground, is all about different ways to put scraps together and cut appliqués out of them. After the book came out, I started playing around with more ideas for cutting appliqués out of something other than just one fabric. In the last issue I had Half-Log-Cabin Tulips. Another clever way to use a traditional pieced quilt block for appliqué is Nine-Patch Posies!
Cutting a flower “just so” from a traditional nine-patch block gives a fun, stylized look to a very traditional appliqué motif. Of course you can change up the colors as you like.
The magazine gives complete instructions for making the block, and includes the flower template that fits just right on the pieced nine-patch. Awesome.
I hope you enjoy this block and all the other 99 fabulous and varied designs in Volume 10!
The editors of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks are sponsoring a giveaway of a copy of the magazine! If you’d like to enter to win, please leave a comment here on this post before 12:00 noon California time on Friday, November 21.
Good luck in the drawing, and remember that if you are subscribed to the blog by email, clicking “Reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Come to the blog on the internet and leave your comment at the bottom of the post. :)
Many thanks for your visit!
Cheerio,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Apr
30
Half Log Cabin Tulips!
Filed Under Blog hops, Magazines, Patterns, Prizes | 202 Comments
Welcome gentle quilters!! It’s Day 3 of the 100 Blocks Volume 9 blog tour! These tours are always a rollicking good time, and I’m happy to be part of things once again.
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I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog All About Appliqué, I’m glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about all kinds of appliqué here on the blog. And, we have a featured appliqué book at the beginning of every month, given away in a drawing, which is way fun.
I’m delighted and proud to say that this is my eighth time having one of the 100 Blocks. I just love participating in these special issues!
My latest title from Martingale, Scrap-Appliqué Playground, is all about different ways to put scraps together and cut appliqués out of them. After the book came out, I started playing around with more ideas for cutting appliqués out of something other than just one fabric. I let my mind run wild, and realized that there are clever ways to use traditional pieced quilt blocks for this! It’s the best of both worlds!
Half-Log-Cabin Tulip by Kay Mackenzie.
Cutting a tulip “just so” from a traditional half-log-cabin block gives a fun, stylized look to a very traditional appliqué flower. Split leaves and a patched background complement the pieced nature of the tulip.
The magazine gives complete instructions for making the block, and includes the tulip template that fits just right on the half-log-cabin once it’s pieced. Very cool.
Of course you can change up the color of the background and the flowers. Here are just a couple of possibilities!
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I hope you enjoy this block and all the other 99 fabulous and varied designs in Volume 9!
The editors of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks are sponsoring a giveaway of a copy of the magazine! If you’d like to enter to win, please leave a comment here on this post before 12:00 noon California time on Sunday, May 4.
Good luck in the drawing, and remember that if you are subscribed to the blog by email, clicking “Reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Come to the blog on the internet and leave your comment at the bottom of the post. :)
Many thanks for your visit!
Cheerio,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Nov
15
Basket of Oranges
Filed Under Blog hops, Magazines, Prizes | 281 Comments
A great big welcome to you!! It’s Day 5 of the 100 Blocks Volume 8 blog tour! I know you’ve been having a blast and a half on the tour so far!
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I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog All About Appliqué, I’m glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about appliqué — all kinds — here on the blog. If you’re a regular reader or you’ve been here before for one of these hops, welcome back!
I’m delighted and proud to say that this is my seventh time having one of the 100 Blocks. I just love participating in these special issues!
My block this time is traditional in nature. Baskets of fruit and flowers abound in our appliqué heritage. Here’s my Basket of Oranges.
One of my very favorite color schemes is the complementary combination of orange and teal. Putting oranges in the basket led me very naturally to choose a tealy blue for the basket!
There are many other possibilities of course.
Brown is a natural choice for baskets.
Making a bright quilt? How about a purple basket?
I hope you enjoy this block and all the other ninety-nine scrumptious and varied designs in Volume 8.
The editors of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks are sponsoring a giveaway of a copy of the magazine! If you’d like to enter to win, please leave a comment here on this post before 12:00 noon California time on Wednesday, November 20.
Good luck in the drawing, and remember that if you are subscribed to the blog by email, clicking “Reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Come to the blog on the internet and leave your comment there. :)
Oct
7
On the cover!
Filed Under Back-basting (no-template), Holiday, Magazines | 5 Comments
Still waiting to hear back from the winner of the October giveaway, so I’ll let ya know.
The November/December issue of Quiltmaker is on its way to newsstands and subscribers now. I got my advance copies, and, happy dance! My article got a cover line!
This piece has been in the works for almost a year now, and it’s so very cool to finally see it in print.
The pillow that I made came out beautiful. I think this block is one of my favorites that I ever designed.
The project is accompanied by a step-by-step how-to on back-basting preparation for hand appliqué, complete with photos.
Apr
30
Dream Pony
Filed Under Blog hops, Magazines, Patterns | 259 Comments
A hearty welcome to you!! It’s Day 2 of the 100 Blocks Volume 7 blog tour!
I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog All About Appliqué, I’m glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about appliqué — all kinds — here on the blog. If you’re a regular reader or you’ve been here before for one of these hops, welcome back!
I’m delighted to say that this is my sixth time having a block in an issue of 100 Blocks. It’s so much fun! Dogs and cats often work their way into my appliqué designs. This time, I went back to my first love in animals. I was one of those horse-crazy girls, and for awhile we had a little horse Zora, named after the beloved ninth-grade English teacher that all of us kids had going through school.
Me and Zora, circa 19$%&^ oh sorry got a finger cramp. Zora was white with black specks, known as a flea-bitten gray. She was a gentle soul and and she let me ride her bareback all around the countryside for hours.
When I was looking for the photo I found another one, this time of my beautiful late mother when she was young. Maybe it runs in the family. :)
Now you know why I was so pleased that the editors of 100 Blocks chose “Dream Pony” to be in Volume 7!
For my block that’s in the magazine, pictured above, I made a buckskin pony. You can easily change the coat color, mane, and tail to make a whole herd of others!
Palomino
Dapple Gray
Bay
Piebald
Apaloosa
Just a few of the wide range of wonderful ponies in the world.
There are 99 more charming and delightful quilt blocks in Volume 7, made all different ways, so there’s something for everyone. The publishers are offering a free copy of the magazine to a lucky winner! If you’d like a chance to win one, leave a comment here on this post before 7:00 p.m. California time on Monday, May 6.
Thanks a million for visiting, enjoy the hop! Be sure to start each day this week at Quilty Pleasures.
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Nov
5
Sleep Tight
Filed Under Blog hops, Magazines, Prizes | 282 Comments
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Greetings! It’s Day 1 of the 100 Blocks Volume 6 blog hop!
I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog All About Appliqué, you are very welcome! If you’re a regular reader or you’ve been here before for one of these hops, welcome back!
This time around my block, Sleep Tight, is a whimsical combination of piecing and appliqué. An old-timey patchwork quilt is tucked into a comfy bunk just waiting for someone to snuggle in and dream away under a star-filled indigo sky.
You can click on the photo to bring up a larger version.
As you can see, the more fabrics the merrier, so this is a great chance to pull out your scrap bag. I used raw-edge fusible machine appliqué, but of course you can use any form of appliqué you like. It’s all good!
You could customize this design by making the background look like wallpaper.
Then decorate the wall with ornaments of your own choosing!
There are 99 more bottles of beer charming and delightful quilt blocks in Volume 6, something for everyone. The publishers are offering a free copy of the magazine to a lucky winner! So if you’d like to win one, leave a comment here on this post before 7:00 p.m. California time on Sunday, November 11.
Thanks a million for visiting, enjoy the hop! Be sure to start each day this week at Quilty Pleasures.
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Feb
21
Petal Path goes pink for giveaway!
Filed Under Magazines, Prizes | 7 Comments
Thank you, Angie in SoCal!!
You remember I posted about my project in the current issue of Quiltmaker?
Angie left a comment this morning that she had just come from the Quiltmaker Magazine blog, Quilty Pleasures. The magazine is giving away three quilt tops from the March/April issue that they made in alternate colorways… and my Petal Path is one of them!
I did not know they were doing this! What a treat! Of course I clicked over at warp speed to check it out, and lo and behold there’s a springtime version of my quilt done up in pinks and oranges that is absolutely darling! Go on over and take a look. Quilt Tops for Giveaway.
The contest rules are in their post. To enter, you have to leave a comment saying which project from the March/April issue is your favorite, and why. You can leaf through your copy of the magazine or view the online table of contents.
A little bit later I received an email from one of the magazine’s editors, saying that Petal Path seems to be the favorite so far. What a great day!
Angie said she entered, so good luck Angie, and anybody else who enters! P.S. Be sure to leave your contest comment over there on Quilty Pleasures, not here :)
Until next time,
Doin’ a little happy dance,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Jan
31
Petal Path
Filed Under Designers, Magazines, Patterns | 5 Comments
I got home from Phoenix yesterday, safe and sound. I was looking through the mail that had accumulated and what should I discover but the March/April issue of Quiltmaker magazine with my project in it!
I met the magazine’s editors while I was in Salt Lake City last May for Spring Market, and we’ve been working on getting a design of mine into the magazine ever since. It’s finally here!
This was made entirely out of one line of fabric, Memories of Provence by Monique Dillard for Maywood Studio. The fabric line was a pleasure to work with and gave me every single thing I needed to make the quilt. It’s hand appliquéd and machine quilted.
Update: the pattern, now called Climbing Vines, is available at my website.
Until then,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
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